


Slippery slope

by Aesthetic_axid



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:08:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 17,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29509467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aesthetic_axid/pseuds/Aesthetic_axid
Summary: Just so I can save my work from wattpadChapter 1-5 will be edited(?)





	1. Chapter 1

Ever since you've got here you swear  
its been raining

It's been dark and rainy ever since you got transferred to Hope's peak high. Usually you'd take this as a bad omen, but, you were already tired and angry about moving so you didn't want to manifest anything that would make you angrier. After the rest of your unpacking and redecorating. You decided to drink what ever you had in the fridge to get your mind off things. You decided id just be best if you went to sleep early this night.

After making sure the house was locked up and secure and that the key was under the mat they finally made you way to your room and laid down. You hoped that by the time they woke up for school I'd stop raining.

you wake up in a cold sweat.  
'A nightmare. Great.'

After a few minutes of laying in bed dreading having to get up. You finally got up and got ready for school. Though you couldn't help but feel like something was off the second you walked out the door.

¤timeskip¤

you arrived on school grounds partially wet from the rain you encountered at the very end your walk from your house. After drying the little water you had on them, you began to search for your "friends". Despite being relatively new at Hope's peak it didn't take very long for you to fit in with the population kids.

you were the ultimate manipulator after all, you felt as if I'd be a waste of your ultimate if you weren't.

Kaede akamatsu, kaito momota, rantaro amami, and maki harukawa were the most popular at HP so they were the first people you chose to "befriend". After a while of walking around a mostly empty school for a few minutes you found them, already in their clique. You inwardly groaned at having to group up with them this early in the morning but they did have to keep up your social status after all. They put on a cheerful expression and happily greeted them.

Since it was early and you all didn't have anything better to do, you all decided to walk around school grounds to burn time until class started. Usually students weren't allowed to do this but thankfully being most teachers favorite student gave you some serious perks.

After thinking about how they should manage their ultimate better to avoid suspicion they decided to stop zoning out and listen to the others talk. Maybe they could get some good info on other students.

Rantaro and kaede were walking a little bit ahead of them while maki and kaito were lagging behind. While listening to rantaro and kaede they heard a certain name they didn't want to hear in kaede's gossiping mouth. Tsumugi.

" ah I think I've heard of her"

They mused trying to hide the fact that they didn't want to hear kaede bad mouth her.

"Wait, really because I heard that she...and that she was a freak that...and that everyone she hangs out with is..."

They began to tune her out. Not only would this gossip be useless to them but it was also gossip about of one of their genuine friends, they didn't really want to hear it. They'd also have to tell tsumugi about this later so it wont get too out of hand, for her sake. Then they heard something that caught your attention.

"I heard she hands out with the kid kaito messes with. I think his name was kimchi, or kokichi, I think"  
A smile spread across their face as began to try and pry more info out of kaede.

Maybe gossip was more helpful than they thought.


	2. ¤Purple haired boy¤

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters 1-5 will probably be rewritten.

Lunch was all you could think about. Despite your wishes for it to come sooner, it felt as if it took hours for it to come. As soon as the bell rang you bolted, skillfully managing to avoid your 'clique'. The first thing you needed to do was find Tsumugi, hopefully after finding her it'd be easier to find Kokichi. You also needed to make sleepover plans. After jumping down flights of stairs to get to the cafeteria and weaving around other students, you finally managed to find Tsumugi.

"hey, Tsu!" 

Tsumugi sucked in her breath, startled by your sudden, and loud, appearance. 

"a... oh, hey_______. You seem pretty energetic today-"

"Yeah, yeah I am. Can you please tell me the fastest was from here to the track" 

" Uh, yeah, go to the doors near stairwell B and you should be-"

"Thanks, Tsu! I really owe you one. Don't forget sleepover at 8!"

You said speeding off, leaving a shock and bewildered Tsumugi behind.

-exsiliens-

Panting heavily, you stood just outside the track doors. After catching your breath and wishing you worked out more you began to look around for Ouma. Unfortunately you didn't have much to go off of. Most of the info you had at the moment was from Kaede, an unreliable source, so you didn't even know if the information you had was correct. The information you got from Tsugumi was reliable but small. So you were basically free-balling it. The only things you knew for certain was that he was small in stature, somewhat pale, has purple hair, and usually sat near the tracks to eat lunch. After a second of looking you spotted him. Your ultimate would usually grant you safety from awkwardness in conversation but you had nothing to go off of this time, no speech patterns, ideals, nothing. For the first time in a while you felt genuinely uncertain.

'How am I gonna introduce myself...'

You took a deep breath and decided, You didn't have food to share or offer so the second best option was to just settle for small talk. Once again taking a deep breath, you began making your way over to him, making sure to be ready to use a gentle voice to not seem like an immediate threat. On your way over you noticed, the closer you got the more disheveled the boy seemed to get.

"Hey" You quietly said with a soft half-genuine smile visible on your face.

The boy flinched

"h...hi" He looked painfully tense and ready to run at a moments notice.

Swallowing hard, he tightly clutched his bento box and kept his gaze down. A part of you deeply pitied him when you saw him like this. Looking so small and frail, you wanted to change that someway somehow, just for his wellbeing. That being said, a part of you relished the fact that he appeared so weak. A persons physicality could tell you quite a bit about their mentality if you looked for the right mannerisms, and he had all the ones you'd want for an easy job. The more vulnerable he is the easier he'll be to manipulate to your will and biding. Shunning your toxic thoughts, you continued your conversation before too much awkwardness could set in. 

"Sorry for the out of the blue question, but what periods do you have?"

As useful as they could be you hated having to resort to such basic questions like that, but at the moment that's all you had. Keeping his gaze on the ground the boy answered.

"um... Tsuchigomori 1st, Kaname 3rd..." 

You mentally sighed in relief at the break of tension. You found out he had more classes with you than you thought. It was only two, if early bird even counts as a legitimate class. Even with such a small number it still shocked you, how'd you not notice? After a few minutes of talking you found out a good amount of info without even using your ultimate... you think. when the school chime rang you quickly and politely said your goodbyes to Kokichi. As much as you were sympathetic towards him, your new found popular kid status would be at risk if you were to be seen with him. As dramatic as it sounds, who ever hung out with Kokichi would almost have an immediate target placed on them and you'd like to avoid that. 

•with your new found connection to Kokichi, you guess you couldn't call him 'the boy' anymore•


	3. How did I not notice?

•time skip•

You let out a sigh of relief while looking at the clock in the corner of the classroom, school was finally over. Packing up your things you made your way to exit door, running into your "friend" group on the way out. While walking you chatted with them, learning trivial things and small details.

Eventually you split up with your group because, thankfully, you walked a different route from them. They walked the shorter way to your house, but you took the longer one instead. You just wanted an excuse to get away from them, just to relax. Plus they knew where you lived, they were just so use to you taking a different route that they didn't pay attention to it.

While on your way home you decided to stop to get some udon takeout on the way. You were going near the restaurant anyway so it made sense for you to get food for you and Tsumugi. While paying you glanced to the side. That's when you saw him, Ouma. You felt your heart skip a beat.

'Calm down, I just need to not get spotted'

This wasn't supposed to happen, you weren't meant to see him out of school. Once you looked in the other direction your heart your heart dropped, there was another group of kids, all wearing your school uniform. You could practically feel the stress of the situation gnawing at on your nerves. Knowing this, you tried to quickly pay for your food. Key word tried.

' Just my luck'

You didn't have enough cash, just two dollars short. Your eyes began to drift between Ouma and the group.

' Why am I worrying so much anyway, he's a social outcast'

He was sitting in a corner after all. He looks to even notice you... But what if he does? At this point you've decided. You have to manipulate the cashier. Usually you didn't use your ultimate on meaningless things, it was too risky and half of the time unmoral. You had no idea how'd it effect who ever is getting manipulated, hell, you didn't even know if the two dollars would come out of the cashiers check if they got caught or not. But this was an exception, this could be harmful to your reputation at school. As extra as it was, you didn't want nor had the patience to start over at square one again. 

'U-um are you okay mam'?"

Enough thinking, more tricking.

You replaced your default soft smile with a slight frown. 

"Ah, sorry I didn't... I don't have anymore" lowing your voice with each word, you pretended to be let down, with a mix of embarrassment for good measure. 

Out of your corner of your eyes you could see the cashiers expression begin to falter. Their mouth turned into a small frown. Good. You were pretty sure you got a new employee, and you were admittedly glad you did. 

' I have to speed this up'

Before you could continue your façade, the cashier spoke up. 

"I-it's okay! you can have it, you're not missing much anyways." The cashier sent a understanding(?) smile.

'score'

You made your face light up at the workers sentence. A light hearted smile came to your face.

"Thank you! ill be forever grateful"

You swiftly but gently grabbed your food and discreetly sped walked out of the restaurant. Once you were a good block away, you sat down on the curb and took a deep breath. Not only was it risky to try and fool the worker with a lack of information, that situation could've ended badly for you. If Ouma saw you and decided to talk to you he could've drawn attention to your connection. That not only would've made you a target for bullying teasing , it would've taken way away your peer benefits. Even if you managed to save yourself by lying it'd almost entirely ruin your new connection with Ouma. Why you cared so much about it, you didn't know. Not only that it's also......

'what?'

You moved from the curb into some near by shrubbery and squinted. 

'Ouma? what was he doing here?'

Why was he walking in the direction of your route? As much as you felt you shouldn't, you had to find out. Brushing off some loose leaves from you and your food, you began to follow him. Half way in you realized how creepy you were being, but you needed to know why he was walking your route. Hopefully he didn't live near you-. After following him for a few minutes he stopped at a small house near the middle of the row of houses. He lived a block away from you... A genuine look of disbelief was visible on your face 

✜How'd you not notice ✜


	4. ☘unlucky day☘

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ignore the A/Ns' they're out dated

You let out a heavy sigh. Not only did you almost run into Ouma earlier, you also found out he lives on the block right next to yours. you closed your eyes and pinched the bridge of your nose. You were undeniably a little frustrated.

'At least things couldn't get any worse, right?'

You felt a drop of water land on your head.

'immediately jinxed'

Another sigh left your mouth, with the way day was going you'd exhale enough to feed the every plant in the amazon jungle. Sprinting through yards to avoid getting you and your, almost forgotten, food drenched. You made it home, only partially wet. After you changed your clothes, you put your udon on the table and checked your phone. 4:48 pm. Surprisingly early since you got out of school around three.

You took a few moments to relax, just a small break before Tsumugi comes over for your sleepover. Unfortunately, your brain didn't get the hint to relax and began to wonder... What made being friends with Tsu any different from being friends with Ouma? Of course tsu wasn't as rejected or bullied as Ouma was, but she wasn't the most popular either. In fact, her ultimate was routinely mocked behind her back. Even despite the huge advantage it could give to the correct user. You guess that's what made them so different. tsu's ultimate could be legitimately helpful, while well, you didn't even know what Ouma's was.

you wondered what it was, with that train of thought you pondered for the next few hours. Maybe he was fooling everyone at Hopes Peak. Maybe his ultimate was really helpful but had a bad stigma attached to it, like you and Maki's. Or maybe his ultimate was useless like Ishimaru's. . . . . . . Okay, maybe you were still holding a grudge because he almost made you get detention, but still, its hard to find a practical use for-

After another hour of thinking you checked your time again. 8:25 pm. Huh, usually Tsumugi isn't that late, especially to your sleepovers. She'd text you a heads up that she would be late at least. 8:35 pm. Now you were starting to get worried, no text, no call, nothing. Before you could try to look for her you heard your doorbell ring. You rushed over to the door and looked through the peephole and as you hoped, it was Tsu. A wave of relief washed over you, she was safe. You opened the door with a bright, unfeigned, smile on your face. There was no reason to hide your to emotions from Tsu at this point because it was only you too, right?

Wrong. Life wasn't giving you a break today. Much to your utter dismay Tsumugi wasn't the only one behind the door when you opened it, so was Ouma. You were speechless, maybe this bad luck was karma finally catching up to you. That was the only way for you to rationalize this unfortunate series of events.

Snapping out of your surprised state you looked down from Ouma up to Tsumugi , guilty was written on her face. Since Ouma was still there you couldn't really show as wide of a range of emotions, but you still shot Tsumugi the most 'How could you' look you could discreetly manage. She quickly noticed and gave you an apologetic look back. You swore if she wasn't such a close friend she would've gotten a hard arm slap by now. Breaking the silence Tsu spoke

"Heeeeey... sorry for being so late, I was stopping to get a friend"

Another half joking glare was sent her was before you spoke in a soft voice

"Don't worry, i'm just glad you made it. plus, the more the merrier!"

A soft smile came to your face as you turned to Ouma at the end. He looked up at you seemingly startled at your voice.

'Wait did she not tell him they were coming over-'

You had to stop yourself before glared at Tsu another time. It could wait, you had to get them inside first. Talking to Ouma was one thing, welcoming him inside your house was another. Just imagining the rumors gave you a headache. You quickly ushered them in, sitting them at the kitchen table.

"Would you like some tea?"

thankfully, the second best thing you were good at was hospitality. Tsu nodded her head, caught between laughing at your antics and apologizing. Ouma, or Kokichi now you guess, noticeably flushed and shook his head no. too bad for him you didn't care, he looked like he needed all the sustenance he could get.

"Tsu, can you help me for a sec?" It sounded more like a question then a demand but Tsu got the hint, and much to Kokichi's panic, she obliged.

The second she entered the kitchen she was met with a whisper-scream, and a soft arm slap

"Why-" before you could finish a soft laugh escaped her

"sorry" a closed mouth smile present on her face

"Well that's not very genuine- did you at least tell him where you were taking him!" You responded a smile growing on your face as well.

"I was in a rush!"

"He isn't even that far" You immediately fired back, thankfully she didn't question your statement. Laughs came from both of you, you truly cherished times like this. By time your guys banter ended the water was near boiling. You hummed as you poured the water into fancy teacups.

"breaking out the guest cups, I see" Tsumugi teased

"Oh shut it" you playfully snapped back

✫Maybe it won't be as be as it seems✫

✃A/N I don't think its my best work, so constructive criticism is welcomed✃


	5. ☾Development☽

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every chapters format will be edited, some will be rewritten

Finally finished with making the tea, you and Tsumugi made your way to the table. As you placed the teacups down Kokichi seemed shocked to received one. When he looked up to look at you, you flashed him a caring smile, making him flush and look back down at his full teacup. It got a small laugh from you, maybe you were becoming fonder of him. ~~_or fonder of his vulnerability._~~ feeling more comfortable you began chatting with Tsu in front of Kokichi without much worry. ~~It's not like he could tell anyone anyway.~~

Eventually, over time chatting turned into eating, eating turned into gaming, and gaming turned into watching anime for cosplay ideas. It was surprisingly relaxing despite Kokichi's presence. Maybe he wasn't so bad. At around 1 am everyone decided to go to sleep, partially because Kokichi was barely staying awake. You took out blankets and pillows and set them all up. You and Tsu an one couch and Kokichi on one of the recliners. You managed to drift into a tranquil sleep.

-Time skip-

After the sleepover you found yourself growing more fond of Kokichi's ~~weakness~~ personality. At least every two days a week you, Tsu, and Kokichi would hang out at your house and relax. With each passing day you saw how much more trusting he was for you. No flinching when you were near, less stuttering, the whole show. You were glad he was _becoming more vulnerable_ coming out of his shell. Though you tried to avoid him at school it was bound that you'd get dragged into something...

It was afterschool hours when you were walking through the halls. You had a teacher vent to you about numerous problems. Good for blackmail, yes. Good for when you wanted to go home, no. While thinking about what you were going to do with the new found information you heard a loud bang against the lockers. You didn't even have to look to know what was happening. You peeked around the corner and saw exactly wat you expected, but didn't want to see. Kokichi getting roughed up by Kaito's jock friends. 

'Can't they pick on someone their own size' your bias freely being shown in your thoughts

As much as you'd like to step in, you refused to throw away the progress you made with either side. You took a different route out of the school. You had a ~~better~~ safer idea. After walking out of the school you stopped just before the turn to your block. If you wait here, there was a greater chance you'd run into Kokichi. You'd pretend like you didn't expect to see him and patch him up at your house once you saw him. A simple win-win plan for everybody.

After waiting for a while you began to worry. Surely Kokichi wasn't so badly hurt that he wouldn't be able to make the walk back to his house, right? After sitting for a while longer you got to your feet. As important as you considered your reputation you had to bite the bullet and realize it wasn't worth getting a _close_ friend seriously injured. Walking a few more blocks back you found Kokichi resting, no, passed out against a row of fences near the sidewalk. Wither it was because of his injuries or his malnutrition you didn't know.

' Christ-' 

You expected him to be a little beat up, but this was second degree assault. _Maybe you shouldn't have waited as long to find him._ You move your backpack to one of your shoulders as preparation to carry him. Much to your concern, he was easy to carry, light even. with him on your shoulders, you cut through yards to get home faster. For both of your sakes.

Once you were home you gently placed Kokichi on the couch and went to grab a med-kit out of the bathroom. You avoided looking at yourself in the mirror. It was already hard enough to deal with the weight of your decisions, you didn't need to look yourself in the eyes while doing so. when you returned with the med-kit Kokichi was still out cold. a small sigh escaped your mouth as you began to patch him up to the best of your abilities. ~~And as much as you hate to admit it you felt flustered when having to remove his shirt.~~

_'_ ~~Props to Mikan for being able to do it so easily-'~~

Your silent embarrassment didn't last long though as you heard a knock at the door. To say your heart dropped would be a drastic understatement. You made your way to the door silently, trying to make sure the person at the door didn't hear you. Looking out the peephole you silently prayed it was Tsumugi or even a random ding-dong ditcher. Unfortunately, god put your prayer on hold. kaede was right outside and having Kokichi shirtless on your couch definitely wasn't a good look for either of you.

❅How much worse could your luck get❅


	6. ¤mercy(?)¤

(Quick a/n: italicized and underlined words are a substitute for crossed out text-)

'Fuck-'

Was the only thought that ran through your mind. Seeing Kaede at your door almost broke you. You'd probably even laugh at your bad luck if you weren't on the verge of fainting. After a few seconds of regaining your sanity, you decided there were three options. One, try to hide kokichi and let Kaede in. Two, put Kokichi in the backyard and pray that he doesn't wake up until kaede leaves. Or three, give up and cry.

As much as you wanted to go with three, you couldn't. As satisfying as it would be, it wasn't worth it in the long run. One would be too risky for you and everything you worked for. Two would be the smart option, right?...

...So why couldn't you bring yourself to do it?...

You couldn't help but feel a twinge of frustration and disappointment in yourself as you began to quietly make your way from the door over to Kokichi. This was beyond risky _and stupid_ to do, if she even caught a glimpse of him it'd be over. But you couldn't just leave him outside in the cold, bruised and half patched up. You guess this was how you could make it up to him for getting him so badly hurt. _you didn't know why you cared in the first place_

You picked Kokichi up on your back and tried your best to clean up any proof anyone besides you was there.

"I'll be there in a second!"

You silently hoped that yelling that would give you more time and it look less suspicious for taking so long. You hastily put the med-kit back and moved Kokichi to your room. As embarrassing as it was probably the safest place to put him for the time being. A long sigh escaped your mouth as you tried to prepare yourself for what situation you put yourself into.

Swallowing your anxiety you opened the door with a fake smile.

"Hey, kae-"

Before you could get any words out Kaede was in your arms.

'Huh?'

"Ka...Kaede?"

The only response you got was a whimper...

You felt something wet begin seeping into your night shirt. Kaede looked at you with tear filled eyes and a shaking frown. Out of all the things you expected this wasn't one of them. Never in a thousand years would you've thought Kaede Akamatsu, queen bee of hopes peak academy, would be crying in your arms at God knows what time. In your shock, you almost forgot about Kokichi entirely.

After a few moments of stunned silence, you lead Kaede over to your couch and sat her down. She trusted you enough to come to you, but even then you had no idea if you should ask about what happened.

"Uhm, Would you like some tea before we talked?"

As awkward as the sentence felt, it was the only thing you could say without any prior knowledge about what happened. Kaede woefully nodded, staying silent even when you parted from her to walk into the kitchen.

Once you were in the kitchen you took a breather and tried to gain your bearings. Kokichi was knocked out, halfed bandaged, in you room. Kaede came to you house, unannounced, and started crying... while looking into to the boiling water you couldn't help but wonder.

'How am I supposed to deal with this?'

Silently groaning at the heavy thought, you prepared the tea and walked back out to the living room. In her hands, Kaede was fiddling around with a stray bandage. The sight made you quietly gasp. You made an excuse.

"Ah, sorry. I was repacking my med-kit earlier today."

As slack as the excuse seemed to you, kaede simply nodded as she continued to run the bandage through her fingers. You set kaede's tea cup on the table in front of her and kept yours firmly in your hands. A minute of silence passed before either of you spoke. You decided to break the silence.

"So... do you mind telling me what happened?"

Despite you saying it as softly as you could Kaede still burst into tears.

"I-I don't know... I just- He just s-suddenly broke up with me. I... I-"

She began to cry again before she could continue...

'Huh so thats what's this about.'

Another wave of silence washed over you and Kaede as she continued to cry on your shoulder. Out of all of the reasons you thought she might've been crying for Rantaro breaking up with her was, admittedly, not one you thought of. In fact, you thought they were doing well. Though you guess outward looks don't mean everything. Before you could contemplate about it more Kaede began to speak again.

"I... I just don't know what hap-happened. I tho-thought we were doing good..."

'Huh. I wonder why then?'

She got quieter with each word she spoke. You hated to admit it but you genuinely felt bad for her. By just looking at her you could tell she was truly heartbroken because of this. The fact that you knew she didn't open up easily, let alone date anybody easily, only fueled your feelings of sympathy towards her. _And made you a little cross with Rantaro..._ You softly rubbed you hand on her back and began to try and comfort her as best as you could.

"Don't worry about it Kaede, im sure he just wanted a break. He'll come back"  
You softly stated

"Bu-but what if he do-doesn't"  
Kaede responded sniffling

"I can assure you, Kaede, he'll come back. You're a great girlfriend, he'll start to miss y-"

**Thunk**

"..."

"..."

"Sorry, ill see what fell"

' Oh God I forgot about Kokichi-'

You got up and tried your best to not look immediately suspicious. The second you were out of Kaede's sight you quietly sprinted to your room. Once you opened the door, the first thing you did was lock the door behind you. You let out a sigh of relief, though it was short lived when you saw the sight ahead of you.

Kokichi was on the floor with his head in his hands, groaning in pain. You hastily rushed over to him to see if he was okay, or at least not bleeding. The second you got close he noticed you, for a split second he looked horrified. Given the fact he had no idea what was going on you didn't blame him, but now wasn't the time. Before he could react you quickly put your hand over his mouth.

"Be quiet for a second."

Your statement had came out more hostile than you had wanted it too. And given his reaction of visible confusion and fear you decided to rephrase yourself.

"Sorry, but can you be quiet? Kaede is in the other room and I don't want her to hear you"

Much to your dismay his reaction only seemed to worsen. Though there wasn't much you could say without telling a half-truth or completely lying. Which you don't think would work out in this situation. You started to speak again, but in a calmer, and more gentle voice.

"Don't yell okay?"

You waited a few seconds before taking your hand away from his mouth. Thankfully he complied.

"I'll explain everything once she leaves, okay. I just need you stay quiet for me until then, you'll stay quiet right?"

Much to your steadily worsening dismay your question sounded more like a command, but even then he didn't hesitate before nodding.

"Thank you, I need to go now but ill be back soon"

Wanting to waste as little time as possible, you quickly made your way to the door before he could respond.

"H-hey wait where's my shirt"

Your face flushed as you walked out even faster, pretending you didn't hear him. You'd explain it to him later anyways.

Once you made it back to the living room, you saw Kaede sleeping on your couch. You only took two minutes at most, so you were surprised to see her sleeping. You guess the walk to your house and all of the crying really took a toll on her. You sighed as you picked up your phone, you had no idea who to call to come pick her up. Usually Rantaro was the go to one to call, but something told you that wouldn't be the best idea.

After a few minutes of thinking you decided to call Kaito, he knew where she lived and was in the "friend group". Plus, he probably wouldn't ask any questions if you said you both were drinking and she just fell asleep drunk.

After texting Kaito, it was basically a waiting game from then on. Kokichi was quiet in the room, Kaede was sleeping, and soon enough once Kaede was gone you could probably enjoy some peace and quiet. ~~Especially with Kokichi there.~~ Even with Kokichi there.

After twenty minutes or so of waiting your door bell rang and you brought Kaede, still out cold, to the door. You once again thanked Kaito before handing her off and saying goodnight.

A deep sigh of relief left your mouth as soon as you closed the door. You managed to come out of the situation unscathed. Though you weren't entirely enthusiastic to have to explain to Kokichi everything that happened. ~~Or why his shirt was off-.~~

▪︎But still, you were glad to have the world spare a little mercy▪︎


	7. ◇unfortunate future◇

As much as you wanted a break before explaining everything to kokichi, you decided it'd be best to get it over with as soon as possible. Once again you got out your med-kit and made your way to your bedroom. Kokichi was laying silently on your bed, with his eyes closed. You couldn't tell if he was resting or not. You made your way over to your bed, crouching down near his face.

"Hey, you up?"

After no response, you began to gently nudge him. He groaned and slowly sat up.

"Morning sleepy head, did you have a good nap?"

Kokichi only groaned again as a response, though thats what you expected. He hadn't taken any painkillers and was half bandaged up after all. A part of you felt bad for not giving then to him when he first woke up, but the past was in the past now.

"Alright, let's finish patching you up"

You propped Kokichi up on the headboard of your bed as you began to finish bandaging him. It remained quiet the entire time, you couldn't tell if he was dozing off or was just silently suffering. When you looked up to see his face he was looking away from you, visibly flushed pink.

At first you didn't understand why; if you didn't know any better you'd brush it off as him just being embarrassed that he was shirtless. Then you thought about how jarring this must be for him. Even if waking up half taken care of in a friend's house and the Kaede situation was ignored, it'd still probably feel bizarre being so attentively cared for. At least for him anyway, he was practically bullied and mistreated everyday after all. A frown made it's way to your face at the reoccurring thought. Hopefully you could change that soon...

After you finished bandaging him up and _finally giving back his shirt_ , you started to explain everything that happened. From when you "randomly" found him passed out to when kaede left. Though you left out the breakup part. Once you were done explaining everything, it fell quiet once again. Then, much to your surprise, Kokichi broke the silence.

"W-why?"

'Huh, why? What does he mean "why"?'

Another short moment of panic stirred inside of you.

'What does he mean by that? Oh God what if he saw me walk away when he was being bullied-'

Apperently the confusion on your face was visible enough for him to notice. He continued.

"I...I meant why did you take c-care of me. You could've just left"

Oh, that was surprisingly better than you expected. You didn't really know how to respond though. You can't just tell the truth and say "I was waiting for you to stumble back only half beaten, but the bullies did more of a toll on you than I thought. Sorry!"  
...  
Well actually you could, you doubt Kokichi would leave because of it, but it still wasn't a good look.

"Ah, I mean I couldn't just leave you there. You were badly hurt."

You took his hands into yours, put on a soft smile, and looked up at Kokichi.

"Plus, what type of friend would I be if I left you all hurt and alone?"

His face flushed almost immediately. A genuine smile showed on your face when you saw his reaction, you thought was funny how easily you could make him blush. _Maybe even_ _guilty pleasure._

"Y-yeah"

His embarrassed stutter got a small laugh from you. You _loved_ liked seeing his reactions more than you could admit. Though, unfortunately, making him blush more would have to wait. You have to make sure he eats. He hadn't had anything to eat after lunch up until now, and it was pretty late.

"Hey, can you stand?"

You asked tenderly. You didn't bother asking if he was hungry or not since you knew he'd say no out of politeness.

He nodded and, with a little bit of your help, stood up. You lead him to the couch and sat him down. You could tell he was still in a bit of pain when he winced once he fully sat. At least he could take the pain medicine with his food. You made your way to the kitchen and began to search for some leftovers. As much as you cared about Kokichi, you were tired and didn't want to cook a whole meal for him.

After rummaging around you found some leftover Yaki onigiri and yakisoba you and Kokichi could eat. It wasn't much but it was enough for you both to be full. You warmed up the food and set the plates. Kokichi got more food on his than yours because you thought he needed it. When you brought out the plates you could see his eyes brighten at the food. A small smile crossed your face, you were glad you put extra on his plate. You began placing the plates down as Kokichi began speaking.

"Y-you didn't have to do all of this for me, r-really"

"Nonsense, its polite to have friends eat when over. Besides I wanted to do this anyway"

His face became flushed again, and as much as you wanted to indulge in his reaction you felt like you couldn't. This really felt like the bare minimum to you and to see him react like it was above and beyond tugged at your heartstrings a bit. You sighed and smiled

"I'll get us drinks, okay"

He nodded and you made your way back in the kitchen. You didn't feel like waiting for tea this time so you picked out some sodas. You grabbed a random one while you specifically grabbed a grape panta for Kokichi. You remembered him saying he liked them in conversation once. You started to walk back to the living room but before you could even exit the kitchen you got a text.

Usually you would just continue what you were doing and check the text later, but this time you wanted to check it now so it wouldn't ruin your time with Kokichi. You set the drinks down and grabbed your phone out of your pocket. Much to your surprise the text was from Rantaro. Maybe he was finally regretting breaking up with Kaede.

 _Hey, you still up?_  
11:23

You silently sighed and responded

yep why need something?  
11:24

He responded back almost immediately

 _Yeah,_ _I_ _wanted to ask you something_  
11:24

ask me what?  
11:24

Much to your annoyance, he didn't respond back as fast this time. You tapped your feet in impatience.

 _Would you mind coming to talk with me tomorrow_?  
 _At a café?_  
11:26

It took all of your will power to not just drop your phone and pretend you didn't see the message. At first you were going to turn you phone off and answer later.

But you didn't want to make assumptions. Maybe he just wanted to talk to you about getting Kaede back and wanted to be more formal instead of going to your house or visa versa.

A heavy sight left your mouth as you responded.

sure just give me a time and place  
11:27

 _Nice, ill text it to you tomorrow_  
11:27

alright goodnight  
11:27

 _Goodnight_  
11:27

You didn't even know what to do for a second. You just agreed to go to a café. With Rantaro. Right after he broke up with Kaede. You took a few seconds to get your thoughts together before grabbing your drinks and walking to the living room.

"Sorry for taking so long! It took me a while to decide what drinks to get"

"O-oh it's no problem"

You sat the drinks down and began to eat with Kokichi

°you didn't want to deal with what tomorrow had to bring°


	8. 《audacity 》

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where the story diverges

  
As the night continued, you and Kokichi ate and finished your food bit by bit. At around twelve you both finished completely and you took the plates to the kitchen to be washed later. After putting the plates in the sink, you made your way back to the living room and sat next to Kokichi. A hum passed your lips as you looked at him and thought. Kokichi was completely focused on the TV.

While he wasn't paying attention you took in more of his appearance. Pale, still bruised, bandaged skin. Purple, unwashed hair. And still dirty, probably uncomfortable, clothes. You doubted that it'd get any better once he went home. Maybe if you could convince him, he'd stay the night. For his sake and your satisfaction.

"Hey Kokichi, do you mind staying the night?"

He did a double take with a flushed face. You'd be lying if you said you didn't laugh at his reaction.

"Don't feel pressured to do it if you don't wanna, I just thought it'd be fun to have a sleepover with just the two of us"

The more you spoke the more he seemed to blush, and once again a smile found its way to your face. You continued

"We can even walk to school together, so are you gonna stay?"

He blushed pinker than you ever saw before, you think he reached a new record even. He began to stutter out words

"I...I don't know if I should"

"Awww, why?"

You notice his blush quickly die down as he paled

"I, uh...My parents would get ma-mad if I came home messy"

Your thoughts came out of your mouth before you could stop them.

"Your appearance says otherwise"

'FUCK-'

Out of all the things you said in your thoughts of course this was the thought that slipped out. You tried your best to quickly recover from what you said.

"Besides you don't have to worry about it, you can use my shower and washing machine"

You tried your best to play it off without sounding too nervous. And much to your surprise it actually seemed to work. Kokichi nodded but his expression was unreadable. It wasn't a loss but it wasn't exactly a win either. After a excruciating few minutes of silence with TV background noise, Kokich began to speak.

"D-Do you mind if I get re-ready to shower n-now"

You noticed his stuttering was coming back, but you choose not to mention it. Hoping that it was just because of embarrassment.

"I don't mind, ill get a towel and clothes for you. My shower is in the hallway to the left"

"O-okay"

Kokichi mumbled. You hope you didn't come across as impatient to him...

You gathered a fresh towel and a wash cloth with some of your clothes that might fit him and handed them to him.

"T-Thanks"

"No problem"

You flashed a soft smile, just in case.

While Kokichi was in the bathroom you got ready for bed, skipping your shower this time since Kokichi was already in it. Once you slipped into your night clothes he came out of the shower not long after.

You cupped his face in your hands with a small smile.

"See, much better!"

Kokichi's face flushed a deep shade of pink as he looked away from you. You removed your hands from his face as a bigger smile began to make its way to yours.

"Anyway its late, we should be going to bed soon. Ah also, I'll be right back; need to brush my teeth"

You left Kokichi speechless in your bedroom as you walked to your bathroom. The bathroom was still a bit steamy when you walked in. You closed the door behind you and fully stretched out. As much as you loved hanging out with Kokichi, it didn't take away your fatigue from earlier today. After a stretch and a yawn, you began to reach for your toothbrush.

'?'

Your toothbrush wasn't there. You looked around the entire bathroom but it was nowhere to be found.

'Maybe i threw it out by accident?'

That unfortunately happens more than you want to admit.

After a few more seconds of fruitless searching, you decided to just grab another one out of the pack in the cabinet. Though you couldn't help but wonder where your toothbrush went...

Once you were done brushing your teeth, you made you way back to your room. Kokichi was sitting on the floor, rummaging through his backpack. He flinched when you came in and quickly zipped his backpack back up. At first you were going to ask what he was hiding, then you just didn't care to know. You had nothing particularly expensive in your room and you doubt it was your toothbrush. A small chuckle came from your mouth, as if. You don't put anything past anybody, but Kokichi was an exception.

Brushing off the thought, you fell back onto your bed and pat the spot next besides you.

"Why are you sitting on the floor? Come on up"

Kokichi awkwardly stood up and stiffly sat down next to you. He sucked in a sharp breath as you pulled him down on the bed and looked at him with a smile. He flashed a small smile back to you, but you saw him wince.

"Ah, sorry, I forgot to bandage you back up"

You began to sit up, but before you could you were pulled back down.

"Wait, you don't have to-"

Kokichi's voice caught in his throat once you looked back at him in shock. His quickly withdrew his hand from your arm and began to stutter out an apology.

"W-wait please don't go i di-didn't mean to-"

"Its fine, Kokichi, I promise"

You interrupted him before he could continue. Honestly out of concern. You'd definitely have to talk about this later, but for now sleep seemed like the better option.

"How about we go to sleep for now"

Kokichi, facing away from you, hesitantly nodded and began to get off of the bed. Just like how he did you, you pulled him back down

"You can sleep on my bed, it big enough for the both of us"

Despite your best efforts, the words came out barely above a whisper as you struggled to find the right words to say. Still facing away from you, he nodded and silently laid down.

Even as you both fell to sleep, it felt as if something still remained unsaid.

¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎

You weakly opened your eyes as the noise of your phone alarm assaulted your ears. A tired groan escaped your lips as you remembered it was a still a school day. You'd gotten barely any sleep at night, though you couldn't seem to remember why... After a minute of laying and thinking you shoot up from your bed looked besides you. Kokichi was still there, sleeping. You didn't know whether to let out a sigh of relief or exhaustion.

You carefully turned to face Kokichi, he looked a lot better than yesterday to be honest. Maybe you could skip school today. Maybe you both could, it was Friday after all. Even if you did miss something you could just use your ultimate to get out of it. You stretched and got out of bed, making sure to not wake Kokichi up. After brushing your teeth and putting on more comfortable house clothes, you put a delivery order for some breakfast food. You ordered enough food for you and Kokichi, he was still your guest after all.

You guessed what Kokichi would want and put your order in. You began making some tea and began to check your phone. Your phone buzzed in your hand.

'Fuck, I forgot about Rantaro'

 _Hey you still meeting me at the café?_  
8:15

As much as you wanted to say no you decided to suck it up and deal with it. For Kaede. _You didn't even know why you cared_ _._

yeah! where are we going though?  
8:16

Rantaro texted you the location, the café wasn't that bad, it actually looked pretty good. Though, that didn't help you want to go anymore than you wanted to in the first place.

nice :D ill meet you there  
8:17

 _Sounds good_  
8:18

You sighed as you put your phone down and poured your tea. Why where you even doing this? It'd be easier to not associate at all, but then you remembered. Social status. Social tie management.

"Ugh"

You rubbed your eyes and finished making your tea. You heard a few thuds and your door open. Kokichi came stumbling out.

"I, uh-"

"Good morning Kokichi"

You flashed him a smile as he made his way to the table. You pushed him over a cup of tea.

"T-Thanks"

He flashed a small smile back as he began to drink his tea, a few moments of comfortable silence went by. You began to speak

"We're skipping school today"

You heard him choke on his tea. He quickly looked up at you.

"Huh-"

"We're skipping school today, its a Friday no one will notice"

He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again.

"Its fine if you don't want to, I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do"

You kept your face neutral and your eyes focused on your tea. You didn't want him to feel like you were putting him on the spot or anything like that.

"Uh... is it okay if I go to school instead?"

"Of course! I completely understand"

You showed him a sympathetic smile. As much as you didn't want him to go back, you understood his decision.

"Will you be okay going by yourself"

"Yeah"

Before you could respond you heard the door bell ring.

'Ah that must be the food'

You got up and answered the door, once you got your food you headed back to the table and handed Kokichi his food.

"Take this for lunch or something"

He looked surprised at the food but didn't question it.

"T-thank you for the food"

'So formal'

You nodded at him as you sat back down at the table as he began to gathered his stuff. Once he had all his stuff and made his way to your door you wished him a fair well. After he left, you sat and ate your breakfast in silence.

Since you decided to skip school, you most did random things throughout the day until your meeting with Rantaro. Despite your meeting being around 3:45, at 3:12 you got dressed and made your way to the café. You still wanted to keep up your good friend façade after all.

After a brisk walk you got to the café. As you walked in you saw Rantaro already waiting to be seated. You checked your clock, 3:29. You guess he had the same idea as you. You cordially walked up to Rantaro and greeted him, he did the same to you. Once the waiter seated you, and you both ordered your drinks the real talk began.

"So, have you came here before?"

It was terribly cheesy, but there wasn't anything else to ask so you'd let it pass. You put on honeyed voice with a soft smile and began to respond.

"Ah, I can't say I have but I'm glad you've brought me here. It's nice"

"I'm glad you like it"

From then on your conversation was pointless small talk for at least ten minutes, until you finally got tired of it and asked a question you wanted answered.

"Sorry if this sounds out of the blue, but why'd you invite me out to a café all of a sudden?"

As much as you wanted to, you didn't hear the answer you wanted.

"I just wanted to get to know more about you, you're an interesting person ya know"

It took all of your will power to not just stand up and leave, it took even more to not subconsciously narrow your eyes at him. Maybe you were making assumptions, but it was just too perfectly timed to be just a coincidence. He just broke up with Kaede and he suddenly wanted to know more about you? Yeah no, you had to rap this up asap.

"I could say the same for you"

You showed him a warm smile, though the persona was getting harder to keep up with each passing minute.

You continued to converse until 4:25, at this point you were over it. You could honestly see why Kaede fell for him, he was mostly genuine and charismatic, even down right caring. But you just couldn't forgive what he did to Kaede, he could've at least waited a few months before asking you out. You sighed mentally before making an excuse to leave

"Ah, Rantaro, its getting late. Would you mind if I went home before it got to dark?"

You saw a faint blush appear on his face.

'Huh, have I not used his first name before? Oops. Well that's not gonna change anything'

Rantaro chuckled and answered

"Sure, would you like me to walk you home?"

You desperately wanted to say no, but it was actually getting somewhat dark out and you didn't want to be mugged or something; so you reluctantly said yes.

While walking home you both had more small talk. He told you more about his sisters, which you thought was nice. _You were still holding a_ _grudge_ _though._ Once you got home you exchanged goodbyes, but before you could get in you house he asked you something. With his hand on the back of his neck he asked.

"Do you wanna go out again sometime?"

You inwardly cringed at the words 'go out', God you felt guilty for going out with a kinda close friends ex-. You quickly thought of an excuse.

"Hopefully we can go out again soon! But I don't know when we can.."

He softly looked at you and asked why. It almost caught you off guard.

"My father is coming back from his business trip soon and I want to be home when he gets back, ill try to meet up with you again soon though!"

A small smile rested on Rantaro's face.

"Alright, ill see ya next time"

He smiled and waved a goodbye as he turned to walk away from your house. You smiled and waved back as he walked away. As soon as you closed and locked the door behind you plopped on your bed and let out a groan. A unrequited romance subplot was the last thing you needed right now. A sigh left your lips.

《The audacity of that guy》  
  


A/N- The chapter feels so long but its only 2470 words- also sorry if it seems like this was dragged out or had hard transitions, I wrote this over like four days and was struggling-


	9. ¿detour¿

You woke up in your bed disoriented. You don't exactly remember when you went to sleep, but you guess you don't mind. Once you got did your morning routine, you decided go out for lunch. It was around 12:00, so it was the perfect time to do so. You made sure to grab everything you needed and set out to find a good lunch spot.

As soon as you turned the corner of your block you ran into someone. Thankfully you didn't fall back, but the other person did.

'Great not even ten minutes out of the house'

You quickly recovered from the slight shock and tried to help the person up. As you held out your hand and mumbled an apology, you took in his features. He had blue hair under his hat and looked slightly taller than you. Before you could take in anymore details, he took your hand. It was surprisingly soft. Snapping out of your thoughts, you apologized once again.

"I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, sorry"

When you looked to see the boy's reaction to your apology you could see he wasn't paying attention to what you were saying. Instead he was looking at your hoodie with a smile on his face. It was black and white with the team Danganronpa symbol in the middle. You honestly didn't think much of it. You watched the show from time to time, but you were only a casual fan. But the boy in front of you was not just casual, he was a fanatic.

"So do you like Danganronpa too!"

Unfortunately, you didn't know that until it was too late. So you sealed your temporary fate with one answer.

"Yeah, im assuming you do too huh"

Now, fifteen minutes and a ramble later, you were being dragged to one of his friends house. How the situation escalated so fast in such a short amount of time? You had no clue. Did you mention how he never let go of your hand? You never felt so unfortunate in your life. Of course you could just kick him and run for it, but you needed to see where he was going.

As stupid as it seemed, he was going back from where you came. You needed to know which one of your neighbors to avoid, the last thing you needed was to get involved with another burden.

You couldn't help but feel your blood chill once you both turned to Kokichi's Street. No way. You had to ask.

"Hey, is the person's house we're going to named Kokichi?"

A excited wide smile spread across his face as he turned to you.

"Great! You already know him, you even used his first name so you two must be close maybe we can-"

You tuned him out before you hear his rambling. Kokichi knows this guy? Why, how, most importantly where. God you hoped he wouldn't pester you if he went to your school. Before you could get any farther into your thoughts you were at the front of Kokichi's house. Your nerves began to catch up with you as the blue haired boy rung the doorbell. The blue haired boy was actually quite for a few seconds. The silence felt so loud.

After a few seconds of silence the door opened. Much to your surprise, kokichi didn't look too worse for wear. Though he did look visibly shocked, but you can't blame him you would be too. Before you or Kokichi could get a word out blue began to speak. You were listening to none of it, you were too focused on Kokichi's expression.

He was looking down, but not at the ground. He was looking at blue and yours, still for some reason, intertwined hands. His was expressionless, even his breathing seemed to still. Before you could ask if Kokichi was okay, blue caught both of your attention.

"So are you coming?"

Kokichi slightly flinched and answered.

"Uh, yeah"

Kokichi stepped out if his house and closed the door behind him. You began your journey to God knows where. Throughout the walk you kept discreetly glacing at Kokichi. He seemed bothered by your handholding. Though thankfully as if on cue, blue let go if your hand. _Man, you needed to learn his name soon_

"Oh sorry about that, I forgot that I grabbed your hand"

Usually you'd think that's a hard thing to do but with his constant speaking it seemed plausible. You noticed that Kokichi seemed less tense as well. You saw this as a perfect opportunity to mess with him. After a few seconds of blue letting go of your hand, you grabbed Kokichi's. Much to your astonishment his face didn't completely flush as you were use to. He just partially flushed as he squeezed your hand. At brought a small blush to your face.

You were subtlety shocked. He's never acted like that before and it completely caught you off guard.

"We're here!"

Blue spoke excitedly.

You looked around, you were so caughtup in everything else that you didn't fully pay attentionto your surroundings. You were in front of a big house in a rich neighborhood.

'?'

What were you doing where? Your question was quickly answered once he pulled out, presumably, his key.

'Oh, so not only is he a fanboy, he's a rich one at that. Spectacular.'

You looked at Kokichi to see his reaction, he looked completely use to it. Ignoring your small pang of jealousy you made you way into the house. It looked even bigger on the inside than it did on the outside. You kept your awe on the inside. Blue led you and Kokichi to his room.

His room was almost as big as your living room. It was surprisingly clean as well. As soon as you sat down blue asked you a question.

"So who's your favorite character? Mine is Kirigiri because.... her character arc is..... even her character design..."

You were only partially listening as you whispered a question to Kokichi.

"What's his name? He never told me"

A look of shock flashed on his face before he answered.

"It's Saihara, Shuichi Saihara"

'Nice name'

Though as nice as you thought his name was you dreaded the fact that you were going to be stuck here for a, presumably, long time. You quietly groaned as you rested your head on your hand.

°Maybe you should've taken a detour°


	10. ✯envy✯

While Saihara was rambling about Kyoko, you silently took in your surroundings. Thanks to his window there was a good amount of light in the room. He had several pieces of merch with kirigiri on it, and you wouldn't be surprised if he had a shrine somewhere. His bed was plush and, in general, his room was extremely clean. You couldn't help but wonder if his family was really rich enough to have maids.

After taking in the room, you began to look at Saihara. Blue hair, tall but lean frame, and an eye catching face. 'A rich pretty boy thats obsessed with Danganronpa' is one of the more flattering ways you could describe him. Though, admittedly, you weren't complaining, a part of you was even slightly grateful. After browsing through Danganronpa forums, you knew how bad fans could get. Thankfully Saihara wasn't anything like the ones you've seen at the grimy recesses of the forum.

He sat facing away from you, slightly slouched in his computer chair. He was on his laptop typing or looking for something. Despite his ranting, you admit he had a incredibly nice voice. Though that could've been just because you've been sitting here for the past hour listening to it.

Once you were done looking at Saihara your eyes drifted over to Kokichi, who had his head on your shoulder. You were surprised you didn't notice. Before you could look at him anymore he made eye contact with you. To which you panicked and flashed him a nervous smile, looking away right after as you felt your face heat up in a bit of embarrassment.

Before you could recover from your partial embarrassment, Saihara caught you off guard by asking you a question.

"So what season are you on? I'm on season 35 but I wouldn't want to spoil anything for you"

The laptop screen behind him displayed all of the seasons in the Danganronpa franchise.

'Ah, so thats what he was looking for'

Since no big time streaming service in their right mind would host the show, it was usually put on sketchy, borderline illegal, websites. After that short train of thought, you smoothly responded.

"Oh, im on season 16. I haven't gotten too far yet"

As far you were concerned, Danganronpa was almost the same as one piece. It has numerous seasons and was way long for you to just binge watch. That amplified by the fact that you couldn't watch it on any mainstream media. So you had no shame when admitting you were only 16 seasons deep into a 53 season franchise.

Though much to your surprise, Saihara almost seemed pleased that you haven't watched much. A wide smile spread on his face.

"Then we can binge watch it together"

He grabbed your hand before you could fully process what he said.

"Come on, the living room has better screening"

He began to lead you out the room. Though before he could completely pull you off the bed you grabbed Kokichi's hand by instinct.

Saihara dragged you and Kokichi out of his room and straight to the living room. He wasted no time getting everything set up while you and Kokichi got settled on the couch. While you were getting settled, you could feel a burning leer on your back. At first you thought it was Saihara waiting for you to finish getting comfortable, but once you tried to look at him he was still setting up the laptop to the tv.

You then looked to Kokichi. Even though he was staring at you, his light _borderline gentle_ gaze didn't feel anything like the searing one you felt trained on you at first. He gave you a small nervous smile when you made eye contact, you gave him a sweet smile back... suddenly you didn't feel as settled as you once did.

A shiver made it's way down your spine. Surely Saihara has finished connecting every, right; So why is it so quiet? When you looked over to see what he was doing he seemed to be having problems. The deafening silence only seemed to unsettle you more.

'Great.'

You were in an large unfamiliar house, with barely an acquaintance, a close but frail friend, and God knows what glaring at you. The air almost felt oppressive to you. If you didn't know any better you'd ask where the bathroom was and go take a breather there. Even as tempting as it was to be able to take a break from socialization, there was no way you were going anywhere alone in this house. Then you thought of a great idea.

You grabbed Kokichi's hand and stood up. It was past noon, so this should work perfectly.

"Is it okay if we get snacks? We haven't eaten anything yet."

Saihara looked up from fumbling with his laptop and carelessly responded.

"Oh sure, we need snack to binge watch after all!"

He told you where the kitchen was with a grin. You gave him a thankful smile in return.

"Thanks"

You followed his directions and led Kokichi to the kitchen. As soon as you walked into the kitchen you felt less tense. While the gaze was long gone by now, it was still bit of a relief to be able to separate from Saihara and breathe. As you both rummage through the kitchen, you couldn't help but look around.

His kitchen was just as lavish as the rest of his house. The appliances were all updated with a sleek black exterior and the counters were smooth marble. The kitchen even had an island in the middle with a dangling light. The amount of food was an different story. Chips, melon pan, umaibo, and even some handmade itotemari candy; not even mentioning the actual food they have stored. Before you could get lost in more details, Kokichi caught your attention.

"Hey, are you listening?"

'Huh?'

You so caught up in taking in details and looking for snacks that you didn't hear him talking to you. Oops.

"Ah sorry, I was distracted. What were you saying?"

You heard a quiet sigh come from across the kitchen.

"I...I was asking what you thought Shuichi so far"

The question lowkey caught you off guard. As much as you remarked about him in your head, you never really thought about your opinion on Saihara.

"I think he's a cool guy, nice of him to let us look in his kitchen like this"

You heard Kokichi become quiet on the other side of the kitchen. You guess the nonchalant tone of your response threw him off. A few moments of silence passed...

"Do you like him?"

If you weren't so shocked by his cold tone, you'd probably do a double take. Where'd he get that from? You guys literally only met a few hours ago after all. Maybe you were overdoing the friendliness or something?

"Uh, no?"

Usually you didn't like short answers but what else were you supposed to say to that question? At first you were going to explain, but before you could get any words out he continued.

"And you won't stop hanging out with me, right?"

Your answer to this easy question was immediate.

"Of course not, why would I?"

Shock was evident in your voice. Why'd he think that?

"Okay..."

' okay... just 'okay' thats it-'

The sound of shuffling resumed on his side while you were still baffled at the short exchange you just had. You grabbed a few snacks as you mulled through what happened. Out of all of the problems you thought Kokichi had, you didn't think abandonment issues was one of them. Even then you'd probably try and work through it.

A sigh left your lips as you and Kokichi wordlessly made your way back to the living room. By now Saihara, or now Shuichi you guess, had solved the problem and gotten everything set up. You and Kokichi say down once Shuichi pressed the play button, though the tv was the last thing you were thinking about.

While you had no reason to doubt or really fear Kokichi, you weren't gonna play dumb either. You were no idiot, you could definitely tell when someone was acting out of character. Maybe it's the issues, maybe it's him getting anxious, but even then you can't just excuse the seemingly random actions.

•°♧hopefully he was just envious°•  
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(A/N: my chapters are usually 1000-1000+ words yet have barely any plot development, punching the air rn- i know i said slow burn but damn)


	11. ×different hoodie×

Even when looking directly at the screen, the gore filled show fails to distract you. What happened in the kitchen disoriented you, and your ultimate wasn't helping.

Because of your ultimate you were use to overanalyzing even the smallest things, even if you didn't exactly want to. Usually it wouldn't be a problem, at worse you'd just learn an unwanted fact about someone. But this time it was different.

While you could ultimately discern platonic from romantic feelings, it wasn't the easiest thing for you to do. Because you and your parents moved so often, you never bothered having any real connections. You kept almost every one, besides your parents, at arms length.

The only true examples of platonic love you had was your parents, the only examples of romantic love you knew was mostly fiction. Because of your lack of experience, the line could get blurry. Which is why you're stressing over this so much.

If Kokichi said what he said in a platonic way, everything was fine and dandy. If Kokichi said what he said in a romantic way, it could become a serious problem. You weren't above flirting to get what you needed, and as much as you hated to admit it, you've had to pull that card more than once.

But if Kokichi liked you, you have to stop doing it. Your ultimate might be "bad" but you weren't an asshole, tampering with raw emotions was too scummy for you to do. Even if push came to shove, you could just let him down slowly.

Though you didn't want to resort to that yet, there's a chance could mess up your... friendship?... with Kokichi. Thats the only reason why, _no other reason._

A quiet but heavy sigh left your mouth as you continue to mull over what happened. Subconsciously while thinking, you glanced at Kokichi and Shuichi. You didn't realize how close they were to you until now.

Shuichi was leaning against you, smiling wide while watching the tv. Kokichi on the other hand didn't look like he was doing so good. A small frown was visible on his face, he kept his eyes trained on the floor or tv, not taking a chance to make eye contact with you or Shuichi. He almost looked nervous. A sigh left your lips as you decided.

You were nipping this in the bud before it got inconvenient.

You grabbed Kokichi's hand and stood up.

"You mind if we get some drinks?"

You felt Kokichi tense up. Thankfully Shuichi responded before, Kokichi could speak any protests.

"Sure, just hurry up or you'll miss the best part of the season!"

A quick smile and thanks is all you did before making your way to the kitchen. Once you entered the kitchen you immediately turned to Kokichi. At first, it was hard to find the right words. Thankfully Kokichi started for you.

"Why did you bring me to the kitchen"

His tone seemingly surprised both of you, it sounded more assertive than you were use to hearing coming out of his mouth, but you didn't let it deter you.

"I wanted to talk to you about what you said in the kitchen"

You expected him to respond, but once you were met with silence you continued.

"I mean... What was that? The things you said, they kinda confused me"

A moment of silence passed over. You couldn't help but discreetly shift uncomfortably, you weren't use to telling others how you felt. Especially when it came to confusion. Thankfully he responded before you could wallow in your discomfort.

"It was..."

You could hear him hesitating.

"Nothing...It was nothing"

.  
.  
.

"Nothing?"

The disbelief was audible in your voice.

"That's not just-"

You bit your tongue. Here wasn't the best place to do this. Your voice was quieter once you spoke again.

"We'll talk about this later"

You randomly grabbed three drinks out of the fridge and began to walk back to the living room, Kokichi trailing slowly behind you.

Once you made it back to the couch an awkward silence settled over you and Kokichi, to the point were Shuichi noticed.

As soon as the episode you were watching ended, you turned on your phone to check the time. 9:45. You stood up and brushed yourself off, you needed a break.

"Its about time for me to go home"

Shuichi and Kokichi looked slightly shocked at what you said. You quickly gave a reason before they could protest.

"I wanna get home before it gets too dark"

Shuichi seemed to accept your answer, Kokichi didn't.

"I can walk you back-"

"No, its fine"

You flashed a half-smile as you thank Shuichi for his hospitality. You said your goodbyes as you made your way out the door, not bothering to look back.

The walk back to your house felt exhausting.

The second you walked in your house, you yelled out of frustration. Not only were you mad at Kokichi, you were mad at yourself for handling it how you did. Soon enough your internal anger turned into external ranting

"Nothing? Just nothing?! No explanation, no 'can we talk about it later' just NOTHING. I totally didn't ask because I care about you?!. I just wanted you to say NOTHING..."

You buried your face in your pillows as you regret everything you did.

¤you wish you wore a different hoodie today¤

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(A/N: Please ignore how trash this chapter is, i'm trying to get back into writing chapters more often💀. Also how obvious was it that I just changed character head cannons mid chapter-)


	12. ⫸Headache⫷

A deep frown remained firmly planted on your face as you remained face down on your pillows. Your anger passed, but a dreadful headache took its place.

Not knowing where the headache came from, you reluctantly stood up and made your way to the kitchen to try and fix it. You were practically dragging your feet the entire way. Your fatigue and hunger was getting to you.

Rubbing your eyes, you got medicine out of your medicine drawer and some food out of the fridge. You filled a glass of water as well. You put the food in the microwave as you took the medicine. After you popped the pain medicine in your mouth and took a swig of water to help it down, you couldn't help but look at yourself in the reflection in the water.

A tired sigh left your mouth. Was this really how you were going to spend your weekend? Wasting it by sitting in your house resenting your decisions. You rolled your eyes as you continued to look into the glass. There's no way you're going to waste your entire weekend over a small conflict.

You grabbed your food out of the microwave and began making your way to your room as you decided what to do with the rest of your night. You left Shuichi's house at around nine and got back at nine thirty-ish. By now it was eleven so you had some time left in the night to do something.

Sitting comfortably on your bed, you began eating. To try and occupy yourself while eating you began to browse on your phone. While browsing a text popped up. Much to your surprise, it was from Tsumugi.

What happened? T_T  
11:25

A flash of confusion went through you.

Wdym?  
11:26

I mean what happened between you and Kokichi (・・ ) ?  
11:26

A groan left you, this was the last thing you wanted to talk about.

Just a little argument  
It wasn't anything  
Srry if I worried you  
11:27

You reluctantly clicked off your phone after you responded. You'd deal with the whole situation tomorrow, for now you just wanted to relax. Maybe you could watch some anime instead.

Before you could reach the remote your phone buzzed again. At first you were just going to ignore it, but you knew your conscious would kill you if you did. Even if you wanted to you could ignore your best friend, so you turned on your phone to respond.

Except, it wasn't Tsumugi texting you this time.

An unfamiliar, and quite unwanted, number showed up in your messages.

I'm sorry  
11:31

You rolled your eyes as you responded to the text

Sorry, wrong number  
11:31

Before you could turn your phone off they responded.

It's Kokichi  
11:32

Oh...  
Oh no.

You racked you brain to come up with a response. No matter how hard you thought your mind blanked. So, you went with the most familiar option.

You don't have to apologize  
Its not your fault.  
11:37

A part of you hoped it would end there. He would read your text, accept it, and you'd move on. For a minute you thought that was how it was going to go. Until

Can I come over? It's completely fine if you don't want me to after what happened. I just want to talk to you about it. I understand if you don't wanna me to though. It's fine if you don't.  
11:39

You sat in shock for a second. You didn't really expect him to respond back, let alone type a whole paragraph. _He had good grammar though-_

Sure I dont mind  
11:40

You clicked off your phone as soon as you responded. You had to take a second to process what happened. When did he get a phone? Most importantly how'd he get your number. Admittedly it was probably Tsu since she texted you just before, but still you thought she'd at least text you before doing that.

A sigh left you lips as you placed your empty plate on your bed. You guess it was just a waiting game then. Once you were done making yourself look decent, you sat and waited for him to arrive...

After about 40 minutes of waiting anxiety began to stir within you. At first you were concerned something happened to him, it was pitch black after all. Though, thankfully, as soon as you were going to call him you heard a low knock on your door.

With a relieved sigh you let him in.

For a few moments your meeting was muted, neither of you wanting to speak first. Wanting to avoid any tension before it arise, you began to speak.

"So... What you'd exactly wanna talk about"

The few seconds of silence passed before he responded to you.

"I guess I just wanted to say sorry in person"

He awkwardly placed his hand on the back of neck as you let out a gentle sigh.

"I already told you, you don't have to apologize for anything. I could've handled the situation better."

Despite your seemingly nonchalant response, a tinge of nervousness was still audible in your voice. You couldn't help but feel as if that wasn't the only thing he came to say. It just didn't make sense for him to come all the way from, probably, Shuichi's house just to say sorry.

A nervous laugh escaped from him as his face faintly flushed a pink before he responded.

"That's not the only thing I came say"

'Called it'

"I wanted to say that I-"

You both tensed as you heard the door being unlocked. At first you tensed in shock, not knowing who would be opening the door, let alone having the key to it. Then you tensed in fear, knowing exactly who was behind the door and how badly you'd be scolded.

You needed to act fast, at least if you wanted to avoid a lecture. You grabbed Kokichi's hand and swiftly made your way to your bedroom. You silently signaled for him to be quiet as you pushed him in. You quickly closed the door before he could ask you any questions.

As you made your way back to the front door, you couldn't help but wonder how many times you'll have to resort to hiding him in your room.

As soon as you made it to the door, it opened.

As you expected you were met with warm smiles from your mothers. A warm hug followed. A small smile made it's way to your face. It would be undeniably bigger if you weren't nervous over hiding a whole other person in your room.

Mayumi, your first mother, released you from her hug as she began to speak.

"Ah, I hope we weren't gone for too long"

You smiled and shook your head

"Nope, not at all"

Jasmine, your second mother, happily hummed at your answer as she kicked her shoes off and made her way to the kitchen.

Mayumi got back your attention by gently ruffling your hair.

"We're having dinner at the table tonight, so don't spend too long in your room, alright?"

She gave you a quick peck on your head before flitting to the kitchen as well.

'...'

'Oh no?'

While family dinners weren't a problem by themselves, you weren't sure how well they'd mix with hiding a person in your room. If you didn't have a window screen on all of your windows you'd probably just tell Kokichi to jump out of one of them and to talk to you later, but unfortunately your life could never be that simple.

While thinking of a plan, you quietly made your way to your room. Opening the door you were met with nothing. For a few moments you panicked, not knowing where he went.

"Kokichi-"

As soon as you whisper-yelled his name he peaked his head out of your closet. A sigh of relief left you, good, he was still in the room. A part of you was even glad he was hiding just incase your parents came in instead of you.

You softly pulled him out of the closet as you began to explain the situation.

"My parents want a family dinner tonight" You whispered.

"What?!" He whispered in return.

"I said my parents wan-"

"I heard you-!"

Was this a good time to mess with him? No. Was even more entertaining than usual? Yes. A small smile rested on your face as you continued to whisper.

"I just need to stay here and be quiet"

"How many times will I have to do this"

The only response you gave was a small shrug and a small lighthearted smile. Despite the dim light, you saw him room his eyes and smile back. You began to make your way back to the door.

"I'll bring you some food back okay"

You, once again, closed the door before he could say anything.

You made your way to the kitchen and watched your parents cook.

▪︎You didn't know how this would go, but at least your headache was gone▪︎


	13. ❂T is for trauma ❂

Fork, plate, knife, napkin.  
Fork, plate, knife, napkin.  
Fork, plate, knife, napkin.  
..  
...  
You weren't use to setting the table.

Usually you and your parents would have family dinners in the living room, but apparently this time was different. Your nerves couldn't help but calm with each plate and utensil set on the table. A content sigh left your mouth as you admired your "work".

'Nice'

Even though it was a small task, it still filled you with a tinge blissful joy. You were snapped out of your thoughts by a gentle hand on your shoulder.

"You did a good job"

Mayumi gave you a soft smile, and you returned one back. Jasmine gently ruffled your hair as she started to put the food on the plates. Once you were all seated, your family dinner began...

With the exception of forks clinking on plates, it was deafeningly quiet. Your nerves began to act up again. After another minute of quiet, Mayumi was the first to break the ice.

"Uhm, so we've heard from your teacher that you've been making new friends at school."

You visibly choked on your food, coughing as you did so. How'd they know, and most importantly, why were they bringing it up? You could see your mom start getting nervous.

"Oh you dont have worry, we just want to know who your hanging around"

While you appreciated her being upfront about it, but you still didn't want to exactly talk about it. _Especially with a certain_ _someone_ _in your room._ You started to play with your food as you began speaking.

"He's just a close friend"

"He's?"

'... oops'

You overestimated, they didn'tknow nearly as much as you thought they did. You tried to start to defend yourself, but before you could Jasmine began to tease. She rested her head on her hand as she began.

"Aw, you didn't even introduce us to your new boyfriend"

"MOM-"

A flush rose on your face as you tried your best to stop your mom from saying anything you didn't want Kokichi could hear. Unfortunately you forgot you had more than one to stop.

"We just wanted to get to meet them"

You shot a playful glare towards mayumi. Both of your moms laughed at your embarrassed reaction. Teasing was practically ritual whenever family dinners were had, but it was different when the other person was in the house. Unfortunately for you, the teasing didn't die down until the end of dinner. Even despite the banter and seemingly endless teasing, you still couldn't help but laugh and tease back. By the end of dinner a genuine smile was stuck to your face.

After everything was cleaned after dinner and hugs were exchanged, you happily made your way to your room, sneaking some food in with you. Once you opened your room door your smile couldn't help but begin to drop. Kokichi was sitting on your bed, visibly troubled. Once you made your presence known he quickly tried to cover it; But, as per usual, you easily noticed.

"Hey..."

A weak smile stayed on your face as you began making your way towards him. You sat down next to him, giving him the food in the process. Even when he took it, he still had a thousand mile stare.

"Hey... you okay?"

You softly put your hand on his shoulder. Even with your gentleness he still flinched under your touch. As soon as he flinched your smile was wiped off your face. You swiftly removed you hand as your worry doubled.

For a few seconds you sat in silence, not knowing exactly what to say. You felt him shift as he began to speak.

"I..."

You heard his voice crack as he cut himself off. His lips began to shake into a frown as you saw tears begin to fall down his face. You couldn't help but tense at the sudden sight. You quickly regained your posture and began to comfort him. Your voice subconsciously softened as you began.

"Hey, its okay. You're safe."

You slowly took his hands into yours, softly running your thumbs over the back of his hands. He placed his forehead on your shoulder as he began to quietly sob. When it came to comforting him, you genuinely couldn't tell if you were doing an awful job or a great one. You couldn't help but deeply hope he'd stop you if you were making it worse.

You both sat there for a few minutes until he calmed down. Eventually his sobs turned into mere sniffles and his abundance of tears turned into a few drops. Much to your surprise, Kokichi sat up, wiped his eyes, and began to speak.

"Why..."

His voice was so hoarse and faint, you almost didn't hear him. Before you could ask him what he meant by that he beat you to the punch.

"Why are you so nice..."

You couldn't help but stay silent as he continued.

"Your parents love you..."

His voice cracked once again as another sniffle sounded from his body

"You go out of your way just to bring me food... you let me come over even after we argued... you even took care of me once... why? Why are you so-"

Once you finally came to your senses, you once again took his hands into yours and swiftly retorted.

"Because I care about you, why else?"

The true weight of those words to Kokichi didn't register for you. In fact, only half of what he said even registered with you at all. The shock of even being put in such a position completely disarmed you. You've never had someone cry so close to you before. Ever. In your mind, he was completely vulnerable. He'd practically poured his heart out to you.

And in a way, you felt as if you did too.

As soon as you said what you said, you realized how much you were actually saying to him. _How much he actually meant to you_. As soon as you realized that, you could feel wariness form in the pit of your stomach.

A part of you wanted to walk out now, to not get even remotely attached. but that didn't stop you from continuing.

"You've only been nice to me ever since we've met, so its natural I'd care for you in return?"

The words felt clumsy in your mouth, but you didn't know what else to say. Even though it sounded more like a question than a statement, it was the only thing you could come up with.

You were pulled out of your thoughts by the feeling of his hands squeezing yours. You almost forgot you were hand in hand.

Unaware that you were staring at your hands for half of the time, you quickly turned your head up to meet his gaze. The second you made direct eye contact you could almost feel your heart practically shatter. His eyes were filled to the brim with misery, a part of you was scared he'd fall into despair if you didn't take the right steps.

You knew he wanted comfort, but how? You couldn't tell if he wanted verbal or physical comfort. You hated guessing, but you had no choice.

As you separated your hands, you could see confusion brush across his face. Then you opened your arms and pulled him into a tender hug. You felt him tense in your arms. After a few seconds of silence you felt him relax, you couldnt help but let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.

For a few moments, you both sat in complete silence unaware of what to do next. So, you both stayed in each other's warm embrace.

After comfortably resting in one another's arms, Kokichi began to speak. His voice barely above a wisper.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Your response was immediate.

"Of course"

A few seconds of hesitation passed before he continued.

"You... you'd never replace me, right?"

"No of course not, why would I?"

"You have so many better options-"

You cut him off.

"That doesn't matter"

After your response a heavy silence, once again, laid over the both of you. You felt Kokichi's hug tighten around you.

"Can... can we stay like this... just for a while..."

You felt your heart flutter in your chest. Your answer came out of your mouth before you could stop it.

"Sure"

You felt your face heat up, partially embarrassed at how fast you responded.

You both relaxed and calmly laid there.

•Maybe this isn't as bad as it seems•  
  
  


(A/N: this chapter is trash i know please be patient-)


	14. pining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick reminder: this is meant for mobile view so if the formatting looks god awful that's why

A faint groan left your mouth as you began stir.

As soon as you opened your eyes they were met with a beam of light. A quiet hiss of discomfort left you as you went to shield your tired eyes. While trying to shield your eyes, you felt your arm brush against something soft. You wearily gazed down as a soft smile crossed your face, he was still there.

Even with you being wide awake, Kokichi was soundly sleeping comfortably in your arms. You let your arm gently fall back down onto the bed as you closed your eyes. It was four am, maybe you could rest a while longer.

After minutes of silently laying, you opened your eyes and began to look around. Usually restlessness wasn't a problem for you, especially in your own home, but today seemed to differ. The longer you laid down, the more aware you were of Kokichi's presence. While it didn't completely bother you, it wasn't quite familiar either... Why didn't it bother you?

You were never one for close contact. Hugs and things of that nature usually weren't your cup of tea, but here you were, practically cradling a classmate.

Classmate?

That wasn't right. At this point, Kokichi was way past just a classmate. Classmate was too formal, you refused to let boyfriend cross your mind, and friend... Friend felt too misplaced. Normal friends don't hold each other as close. Normal friends don't sleep in each other's arms. Normal friends don't do what you two do, they have more boundaries.

Right?

As much as you hate to admit, you had no experience with how close friends could, or should, become. You'd move so often that having real friends seemed pointless to you, not to mention the hurt the constant separation would cause. Even now with your permanent home you had trouble making new, genuine, friends.

Tsumugi was the only person you considered a real friend. She was nice to you as soon as you walked into the school. Even before you put on your persona. Kaede and the others though, they befriended your persona, not you. But what made Kokichi any different?

Perhaps its because Tsumugi closed the gap between you two, or maybe its because you kept him around longer than you intended.

Even then, Kokichi seemed more than just a close friend to you.

A small frown crossed your face as you rubbed your eyes as groaned. You felt more awake and aware than ever before. Getting into your own head never bothered you like this before. Before you could continue your thoughts, you stilled. You felt Kokichi begin to stir.

You heard a mute whine come from him as he stretched. At first you thought he was going to wake up calmly. You were quickly proven wrong by him shooting up from off the bed, almost falling when the blanket got caught around his leg. You sat up and rested your head on your hand, you new exactly what was coming next.

"I-... sorry"

As you expected.

"You didn't do anything that warrants an apology. You don't have to keep apologizing to me for nothing"

You made your way off your bed as you awaited his response. You were met with silence. After a moment of quiet he finally spoke up.

"I... I should go home"

A look of confusion was visible on your face as you began to speak.

"This early? We just woke up a few minutes ago."

A sigh left him as he looked away from your gaze. He continued.

"I...I need to get home before my parents notice I'm gone"

You had to stop yourself from showing visible disdain.

You bit your tongue as you felt bitterness fill your senses. While you agreed with the sentiment, you didn't agree with who it was for. As far as you were concerned, he shouldn't go home. Ever. He'd be better off with anyone but them.

But alas, you had no say in what he did. _Usually._

As much as you wanted to, you couldn't use your ultimate on him. His parents were probably manipulative enough as is, you didn't want to add to his burden. So you reluctantly bite your tongue and agree. But that won't stop you from trying to stall him.

"You should at least eat something before you go."

You both were aware resistance was futile. He was going home with food in his hands whether he liked it or not. So he accepted. You both quietly made your way down to your kitchen. As you entered you kitchen Kokichi followed suit. He caught you off guard at first, but you quickly adjusted to it.

You went into your cabinets and pulled out some rice, iyokan, and black tea. You also grabbed some yogurt from the fridge. After you grabbed all of your ingredients you made some Gohan with yogurt and iyokan as a side. you gave Kokichi the black tea in a thermos.

A light flush rose on his face. You couldn't help but let a small smile cross yours as he stumbled out a surprised thanks. You only nodded in response. No matter how much he did it you'd never get tired of it.

After you gave him his food you both made your way to the front door. Your smile faltered as you exchanged goodbyes. You couldn't help but watch him as he walked away. As soon as he was out of sight you closed the door. Before you could begin moping around a thought crossed your mind.

'I wonder if ill ever get that thermos back?'

A small laugh escaped you as you shook your head. Probably not, but you didn't mind. You had plenty, he probably needed one anyway.

A smile remained on your face as you began lounging around the house waiting for you parents to wake. After making breakfast for Kokichi you realized you ran out of a lot of things.

As soon as you parents woke up, you told them you were going to the store. At first they were appreciative, but since it was still early, you managed to sooth their concerns.

A breeze of cool morning air hit you as soon as you walked out the door. You let a small relieved sigh escaped your lips as you began walking. While the store was no where near by, you didn't feel like dealing with the creeps at the train station this early in the morning.

About halfway through the walk you checked your phone. 6:37. You should be home before noon.

'Nice'

As soon as you entered the store you made a beeline for what you needed. You admittedly might need to take the train back home because of the amount of food you were getting, but you'd deal with that later. After grabbing everything you needed, you made your way to checkout.

On your way out of the store, you saw a familiar shade of purple hair in one of the isles. At first you were going to ignore it, there's a good chance it wasn't Kokichi. But your curiosity took over, and sure enough it was him. You made your way over to say hey.

"Kokichi"

As soon as his name came out of your mouth you saw him jump a little. You couldn't help but giggle at his reaction. He quickly turned around and hid what he had behind his back. He stuttered out a nervous response.

"O-oh Hi"

'?'

You couldn't help but wonder what he was hiding. You internally sighed as you decided to leave it alone. He probably has a good reason for hiding it, you trusted him enough to at least believe that. You pushed the thought away as you smiled and began speaking.

"I didn't expect to see you here"

"S-Same for me, hey ca-can you wait outside for me?"

He was looking, and sounding, more nervous by the second. You were starting to become concerned by the second, but before you could ask he practically decided what you would do with one word.

"Please?"

You internally sighed as you gave in, said sure, and made your way to the door. As soon as you stepped out the door you groaned and leaned next to the door. You couldn't help but wonder what happened to your spine, or apparently, lack thereof. If anyone else would've said that you probably would've just said 'no' or 'why', but apparently with Kokichi that just wasn't the case.

You were snapped out of your thoughts by the sound of Kokichi's voice calling you. You made your way over and began to walk with him. For a while, you were both just mindlessly talking and walking. It was until Kokichi stopped walking that you realized where you two were. You were at a park a few miles away from your house.

'We're at a park...'

'On a sunny day...'

'Under a cherry blossom tree...'

'...'

'WAIT-'

To say you were bewildered would be a drastic understatement. You couldn't help but hope he wasn't going to do what you think he's going to do... ~~At least not now.~~

A light blush spread across his face as he began to speak.

"I... I have something for you"

'Please don't be a confession letter please don't be a confession letter please don't be a confession letter-'

While you don't actually know know how common love letters actually were in Japan because of your lack of exposure to Japan's romantic culture, you still couldn't help but fear it. Or any romantic confession at all. ~~Admittedly you weren't opposed to the idea of dating him, you just didn't want your first confession to be after a grocery trip.~~

Then, much to your relief ~~and slight disappointment~~ _,_ what he pulled from out of his bag wasn't a confession letter but a stuffed plushie.

"I-I know you have a few stuffed animals on your bed, s-so I wanted to give this as thanks"

You swear you felt your heart fluttering around your chest. You couldn't help but begin blushing yourself, you were beyond thankful he couldn't see you blushing. A wide smile unknowingly made it's way to your face as you received your gift from him. You laughed at how much more intense his blush got after your hands grazed one another's. Your wide smile remained on your face as you began to thank him.

"Thank you!"

He quickly, but clumsily, responded.

"I-It's no problem"

"Want to stay for a while longer?"

Even with your arms full of groceries and a stuffed plush, you still wanted to stay with him a bit longer.

"Are you sure thats okay? You still have your-"

"Its fine, i don't have anything that needs to be cold away"

"S-sure then"

You both happily made your way to a near by bench. As soon as you sat down you heard a dull thunk.

'?'

He still had something. You inquired about the sound before you could stop yourself.

"Whats that?"

Kokichi quickly reached back and grabbed the source of the noise. A camera.

"Oh i- ...its just a camera I got."

Your eyes couldn't help but light up again as you began to speak.

"Cool! I have a camera too, I can help you set up yours if it isn't already"

As soon as your proposition was met with a warm acceptance, you began to put your groceries on the bench, temporarily leaving them to help set up the camera.

Within a minute of working with the camera, you managed to get it working. It was a Polaroid camera, while it wasn't the brand you had you were still pretty familiar with the functions.

You were both excited once the first picture you snapped came out without any errors. As soon as the picture came out, Kokichi turned to you and asked you a question.

"Do... Do you mind if I take a picture of you?"

For a second you were shocked, no one really asked you that before. Then you gained your bearings and processed the question. You weren't really fond of pictures, in fact you weren't the most photogenic. But you pushed the thoughts out of your head as you responded.

"Sure"

Even though you weren't the most photogenic, you didn't mind. As long as he was the one taking the picture you probably never would. You put a joyful smile on your face as he pointed the camera towards you.

After you heard the click, you looked over to see how I came out. Much to your surprise it actually came out pretty well.

"Wow! It looks really amazing"

"Of course it looks amazing, y-you're in the picture"

Despite his words becoming quite in the end you heard him loud and clear. Another wave of warmth made it's way to your face.

"Thanks, Kokichi"

After another hour of talking you both finally said your goodbyes and parted ways.

Once you got home you put the groceries up and swiftly made your way to your room. As soon as you closed the door behind you, you laid in bed, put some anime on, and kept the stuffed plushie close in your arms.

•°Maybe a love confession wouldn't be that bad°•  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


(A/N sorry for the late update school was getting in the way- on a lighter note, writing this makes me learn new things every chap. Gohan: steamed rice, Iyokan: Japanese citrus fruit kinda like an orange :D)


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